Explore, enjoy, and protect the planet.

skvarla

WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio, covered the story of the state's environmental agency rejecting federal grants to do baseline water testing in the state's triassic basin area.
From the report: North Carolina environmental officials have said "no" to a federal grant to check water quality in areas where fracking may occur. The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources says the money from the EPA would only pay for salaries of people brought in to do testing.

As highlighted in today’s Coastal Review article “State Declines $600k in Federal Grants”, the McCrory administration’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources has turned down two 2013 grants for which it applied, and which were awarded to the state by US EPA. The grants, totaling nearly $600,000, were selected for approval in a competitive application process. The EPA grant program is intended to build the capacity of state agency to effectively address water quality challenges.
“This is exactly the time that our state would benefit from the science and research that the grants are intended to support,” said Molly Diggins, state director of the NC Sierra Club.
“The McCrory administration has walked away from funding that would help the state to make sound decisions about fracking and water quality.”

Frank Tursi of the NC Coastal Federation broke the story on Monday Morning that the McCrory administration’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources has turned down two 2013 grants for which it applied, and which were awarded to the state by US EPA. The grants, totaling nearly $600,000, were selected for approval in a competitive application process. The EPA grant program is intended to build the capacity of state agency to effectively address water quality challenges.